Tag: Home

It’s functional. And not as full as prior to the project.

The brush is washed, the roller cover discarded. The tape is trashed and the shrouds have been removed from the huddled furniture. It didn’t all go back together in a snap. No, small things didn’t line up or fit where I wanted. But then again, this was a home improvement project. Aren’t they required to demand multiple trips to the store?

This project certainly demanded multiple trips to the recycle bin. Paper was the largest portion — in both volume and weight. A little plastic and cloth added variety.

It waits for finishing touches. But photo needed to be quick before the cluttered file-system-of-papers-on-the-bed takes over.

Craft projects. Sewing. Cooking. Home improvement.

Each and every one of them – at least in my hands – have a point in the middle where it appears as if a tornado attacked my stash of  supplies. I proved it again with my painting/decorating project begun in earnest last Thursday and still in the recovery — may as well sort this stuff I pulled out of the closet – stage.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the largest/heaviest/non-wheeled pieces of furniture huddled under shrouds. They endured getting pushed around. (Actually I endured pushing them around.) Outside it was hot with occasional rain. Inside it was hot with intermittent spatters. (The old shower curtains which I use for drop cloths give a history of paints used through the years.)

Stay close together! Crazy lady is moving the ladder around the edges.

You’ve heard the advice about a long journey beginning with the first step.

I’d like to back up a little from lifting the foot off the ground and swinging it forward. A thought. A plan. Some preparation. These are good things. Yes, they can be taken to the extreme. It’s been years — at least three — since I started talking, thinking, and planning to re-paint my office/guest bedroom.

About two weeks ago I started to take action by ordering a new baseboard heater and contacting a handyman to install it. And then I set a goal for me. As soon as I finish XX I’ll move things out, buy the paint, and do it.

I have too many things. My children have too many “left overs” stored at my place. And papers! Do I really need to keep every draft of the bad, learning to write, stories? Evidently that was my feeling at one time.

So I’m back from the store – two actually, the first one had paint but not the replacement A/C duct register. Now is the time to get “grubby” (do people still use that word?) and remove dirt, hangers, and wallpaper border.

Will I need that again? Better save it “just in case”.

A case of too much “just in case” can swell until the closet is full, the storage area stacked to the ceiling, and it’s a major project to find the flower pot I know I had. I used it…that long ago?

Remember your resolution for January? The one to de-clutter one corner. Reduce books on the shelf to make room for new ones. I hate to tell you this — January has come and gone.

Do not despair. If your inanimate objects are like mine they are waiting for the day when a moment of ambition strikes.  I’m prompted twice a year when our church holds an “attic treasure” sale. In an rare organized minute I pulled out a couple of containers and started filling them for the next sale.

I get a few bags of room. The church gets a few pennies. The new owner gets a bargain. Win. Win. Win.